Posts by RipVanWinkle

16

inactive for 5 months...confused!

by babyboo in

jw
friends

a little about me: i'm a 17 yr old femme-i'll be 18 the 30th of this month.

and yes, i'm going to celebrate it.

i haven't celebrated it since i was 6. i have 2 older sisters, an older brother, and a younger brother.

RipVanWinkle

BB,

Tried to post this last night but the board didn't respond.

I can feel your pain that you have lived with for the past decade. I too have had a difficult time with more than my share of heartbreak. I have been a witness for the past 60 years and have seen a lot of changes in the org. Some good and some dreadful. I have no power to change the injustices I have suffered, and those who have power to do good are unwilling to do so. That being said, the question is: So what do I do about what I believe?

I find some guidance for myself in the writing of the Apostle Paul to Timothy in 2 Tim. 3: 1--Paul was writing about dangerous times in the last days. He did not specify that it would only be difficult and stressful for the world, but for Christians as well and he tried to prepare Timothy for this. Note his language.

"You may be quite sure that in the last days there are going to be some difficult times.. . . (vs. 5) They will keep up the outward appearance of religion but will have rejected the inner power of it. Have nothing to do with people like that. (vs. 10) You know, though, what I have taught, how I have lived, what I have aimed at; you know my faith, my paitience and my love; my constancy and the persecutions and harships that came to me in places like Antioch, Iconium and Lystra - all the persecutions I have endured; and the Lord has rescued my from every one of them. You are well aware, then that anybody who tries to live in devotion to Christ is certain to be attacked; while these wicked imposters will go from bad to worse, deceiving others and deceived themselves."

I think, BB that it is interesting to note that Paul says that imposters not only deceive others but are themselves deceived. Paul says to follow not those who have a facade of religion but to look to the example of those who have been faithful. He then goes on in vs. 14 to say. "You must keep to what you have been taught and know to be true; remember who your teachers were, and how, ever since you were a child, you have known the holy scriptures - from these you can learn the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired b y God and can profitably be used for teaching, for refuting error, for guiding people's lives and teaching them to be holy. This is how the man who is dedicated to God beomes fully equipped and ready for any good work."

So for those of us who accept the Bible as God's word we must realize that our destiny is not dependent upon what someone else says or does. Those who are hypocrites etc are judged by the Great Judge of all. But this does not excuse us INDIVIDUALLY from making a thorough study of the Bible and working to live by those standards. Going to the KH can often give us encouragment to research the Bible. The Theocratic School with the study materials can be a real source of inspiration. However, I have come to realize that those who sit around me may or may not fit into the Christian pattern. But that is not my problem. I can only control my course.

This has been the case since the inception of Christianity. Check out Jude vs 3 where Jude says, "My friends, I was full engaged in writing to you about our salvation - which is yours no less than ours- when it became urgently necessary to write at once and appeal to you to join the struggle in defence of the faith, the faith which God entrusted to his people once and for all. It is in danger from certain persons who have wormed their way in, the very men whom scripture long ago marked down for the doom they incurred. They are the enemies of religion; they pervert the free favour of our God into licentiousness, disowning Jesus Christ, our only Master and Lord."

He goes on to tell of people who were on the right path and lost their balance. A person may claim to follow the Christ, ( may have "wormed" their way into the congregation) but their lives and conduct tell the story. God will give us strength to overcome all our difficulties if we throw our burdens on Him and keep our eyes focused - not on people - but on our goals.

I appreciated your attitude and these are just a few of my thoughts.

RVW

76

I Said Goodbye

by Farkel in

jw
friends

my father was rushed by ambulance from his rest home to st. marks hospital in salt lake city, utah friday, but i only just heard about it.

i received a call from the floor nurse and she told me he is not expected to live.

his lungs are filled fill up with fluid and are continuing to fill u with more fluid: he has pneumonia.

RipVanWinkle

Farkel,

I've followed your posts from the old H2O. Almost feel like I know you. So sorry about your dad. One eventuality befalls us all in the present. It's a time to reflect on our own lives. I felt that a reflection by Erma Bombeck was appropros:

IF I HAD MY LIFE TO LIVE TO LIVE OVER by Era Bombeck
> I would have talked less and listened more.
> I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained,or the sofa faded.
> I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.
> I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about this youth.
> I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

> I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.
> I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.
> I would have cried and laughed less while watching television and more while watching life.

> I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.
> I Would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

> I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
> Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

> When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "later. Now go get washed up for dinner."
> There would have been more "I love you's". More "I'm sorry's"
> ... but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute...look at it and really see it live it...and never give it back.
> Stop sweating the small stuff. Don't worry about who doesn't like you, who has more, or who's doing what.
> Instead, let's cherish the relationships we have with those who do love us.
> Let's think about what God HAS blessed us with, And what we are doing each day to promote ourselves mentally, physically, emotionally, as well as spiritually.
> Life is too short to let it pass you by. We only have one shot at this and then it's gone. I hope you all have a blessed day. .

Note: Era Bombeck needed an organ transplant, and even though she could have been moved to the head of the waiting list, due to her prominence and wealth, she refused to do such, and subsequently, died from organ failure.

My sympathy to you and yours.

RVW

41

Read God's Word the Holy Bible Daily

by Nicodemus in

jw
friends

for decades now, those words have appeared atop one of the watchtower societys buildings in new york city.. that exhortation may never have been more needed by jehovahs people themselves than it is today.

recent posts have asked good questions regarding what can or will sustain individual jehovahs witnesses who do truly love god, but who may be disheartened by various things they have seen in the organization.. it is clear to me that many witnesses spend far more time reading the societys publications than gods word itself.

one reason sometimes given is that the preparation and research has already been done for you, thus making it easier.

RipVanWinkle

Nicodemus

Your post was positive and well thought out. Thank you.

I am convinced that no matter what experiences a person has had, going back to the Bible and reading and re-reading it helps us to see new things from a different vantage point. This can benefit ourselves and it should make better people out of us in that we can relate to others going through difficulties and offer some compassion.

Then when we find that we can't do it all by outselves - can't change or improve our condition - it becomes easier to "throw our burdens on Jehovah". Then he gives us peace.

It reminds me of the poster that says:

As children bring their broken toys with tears for us to mend,
I brought my broken dreams to God, because he was my friend,

But then instead of leaving Him in peace to work alone,
I hung around and tried to help with ways that were my own.

At last I snatched them back and cried: "how can you be so slow--"
"My child," He said, "What could I do? You never did let go."

I've carried this around as a reminder for 3 decades. I've had my share of disappointments, but I've let them all go. I haven't the time or energies to carry around those loads.

Again. Thanks for your meaningful post..........RVW

1

To Just2laws

by RipVanWinkle in

jw
friends

i've noted some of your posts since coming to the board.

if my memory serves me well, you had been an elder and had seen enough to make a "u" turn.

i've also noticed that many here on the board have taken advantage of your internal turmoil to say, not only are there problems in the org.

RipVanWinkle

I've noted some of your posts since coming to the board. If my memory serves me well, you had been an elder and had seen enough to make a "U" turn. I've also noticed that many here on the board have taken advantage of your internal turmoil to say, not only are there problems in the org. but there are bigger problems like "No God" So you are put out to float without a life boat, jacket, map, compass or anything else and they say "good luck! you are the captain. You are in charge of your future minutes.

Well, I guess that is palatable to some, and that's OK with me. But I saw something that kind of struck home to me and I'd like to share it with you. It's in the form of a joke, but it makes a point.

WHO NEEDS GOD?

One day a group of scientists got together and decided that man had come a long way and no longer needed God. They picked one scientist to go and tell Him that they were done with Him. The scientist walked up to God and said, "God, we've decided that we no longer need you. We're to the point that we can clone people and do many miraculous things, so why don't you just go on and get lost."

God listened patiently to the man and after the scientist was done talking, God said, "Very well! How about this? Let's have a man making contest." To which the man replied, "OK, great!" But God added, "Now we're going to do this just like I did back in the old days with Adam."

The scientist said, "Sure, no problem" and bent down and grabbed himself a handful of dirt.

God just looked at him and said,... "No, no, no. You go get your own dirt!"

~

It takes a bunch of super scientists to clone something already in existence. Who was the super Scientist that made the first whatever???

I'm not much into philosophy and I don't know the latest scientific jargon, but I've never seen the miracle of even a simple creature come from nothing. Laws require lawmakers. Life requires a lifegiver. House requires some builder. Even a dilapidated house took someone to make it. How can we account for the marvels known and unknown in the universe without someone as the first cause???

Just thinking on paper.

RVW

56

The Name Jehovah

by ruffian in

jw
friends

please can someone shed light on the claim that when the bible was originaly written it had the name jehovah in it over 7000 times but it was changed because of superstition?

how do you dispute it?

exactly where did they get that crazy version of their bible anyway?

RipVanWinkle

Hey Larc,

Thanks for your post. I DID read the whole thread, but wasn't sure about Susan's response. Since this board is such that you can't actually respond to a certain poster it leaves the messages kind of mixed up. I remember the old H2O where there was no question as to who was answering who. Probably the easiest way is to put the name at the top like you did and it removes all doubt.

Susan.

Thanks for your response. I read your introduction and think it's great that you'll have a discussion with the 2 JW's. I have 2 cousins who are Roman Catholic Priests. My family were Orthodox. We made a break with the Church in the 1920's. Neverthless we have had some "spirited" discussions together and always stay on good terms. We can disagree without being disagreeable. Life's too short to be nasty.

Peace to you..........RVW

56

The Name Jehovah

by ruffian in

jw
friends

please can someone shed light on the claim that when the bible was originaly written it had the name jehovah in it over 7000 times but it was changed because of superstition?

how do you dispute it?

exactly where did they get that crazy version of their bible anyway?

RipVanWinkle

Susan,

Was there something in my post that upset you? If so, Please let me know what it was.

Thank you,

RVW

56

The Name Jehovah

by ruffian in

jw
friends

please can someone shed light on the claim that when the bible was originaly written it had the name jehovah in it over 7000 times but it was changed because of superstition?

how do you dispute it?

exactly where did they get that crazy version of their bible anyway?

RipVanWinkle

Ruff,

I have a copy of the New English Bible which has the research and support of eleven different groups including Baptist, Methodists, presbyterians, church of England, Church of Scotland and others.

In the introduction it says that it used the R. Kittel's Biblia Hebraica (3rd edition, 1937)which was based on the earliest surviving MSS dating from the ninth to eleventh centuries A.D. It goes on to add:"The traditional text was originally written only in consonants, but in order to preserve what they regarded as the correct pronunciation of the words the Rabbis added vowel-signs to the text.. . . The vowels are here represented by means of strokes and dots added to the consonantal text, and this method of vocalization made it possible for the Rabbis to indicate variant readings which they preferred, without meddling with the consonants: they put in the margin of their manuscript the consonants of the reading whey wished to adopt and added the vowel-signs of this reading to the consonants in the text which they were rejecting. The reader knew that he was to pronounce the consonants in the margin with the vowels in the text.

One variation of this convention is of special importance, inasmuch as it affects the divine name. This personal proper name, written with the consonants YHWH was considered too sacred to be uttered, so the vowels for the words 'my Lord" or "God" were added to the consonants YHWH, and the reader was warned by these vowels that he must substitute other consonants. This change having to be made so frequently, the Rabbis did not consider it necessary to put the consonants of the new reading in the margin. In course of time the true pronunciation of the divine name, probably Yahweh, passed into oblivion, and YHWH was read with the intruded vowels, the vowels of an entirely different word, namely 'my Lord' or 'God'. In late medieval times this mispronunciation became current as Jehova, and it was taken over as Jehovah by the Reformers in Protestant Bibles. The present translators have retained this incurrect but customary form in the text of passages where the name is explained with a note on its pronunciation (Exodus 3:15) and in four place-names of which it forms a constituent element; elsewhere they have followed ancient translators in substituting "LORD' or "GOD', printed as here in capital letters for the Hebrew name."

It would seem to me that inasmuch as the scholars who put this bible together knew the Divine name we would see it through their copy of the Bible. Yet only one time as mentioned above do they use the name in a footnote. Not many seem to want to go public with the name.

The new Jerusalem Bible uses the name as Yahweh.

When Acts 15:14 says that God would take out of all the nations a people for his name, it would not be a title as used by the multitude of people who call on some god. It would need to be distinctive. The name "Jehovah" as the 15th century reformers called him serves to seperate him from all other gods. Some call him Yehowah, or Yahweh, which is still positive identification.

My grandfather's name (in Europe) was "Wassil". When he came to America it was written as "William". I guess you would call that being Americanized, yet he still had an identifying name. He would answer to both names.

Just my thoughts at this late hour.

RVW

20

Sin, Mercy and the Watchtower Way

by Thirdson in

jw
friends

its strange now how i find such a huge contrast between the words of the gospel accounts of jesus and the interpretation of those words by the wts.

to me it seems there is little of the gospel jesus in the wts attitude to sinning and to sinners.. i recently reread lukes account of when jesus went to the home of the pharisee, simon.

during the meal a woman of the city, a sinner, bathed jesus feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.

RipVanWinkle

Thirdson,

Something that disturbs me besides the difference between the talk and the walk, is that so much hinges on WHO you KNOW. If you have the right friends, family etc. (elder, CO, DO etc.) you may drink to an excess, live an immoral life, cheat, slander, embezzle etc. and get no disciplinary action. It all gets swept under the carpet. It doesn't hurt to give some of these "positioned" persons some nice gifts every so often either. Yet, someone else w/out contacts will be sent out on a rail and told "don't bother coming back".

I've seen so many changes during the past 20 (+ -) years. Or maybe I'm just more aware.

RVW

23

Question for Tina

by Maximus in

jw
friends

skimming earlier, i noticed the name satir.. i had occasion to work with a very special older woman who was an absolute delight.

she had trained with virginia satir, who is now long dead, and vs had invited her to be part of her peace group.

(starts with an a?

RipVanWinkle

Copernicus,

Talk about being bitter - I have no bitterness. While others may feel differently (and each has a right to their feelings), I am still a firm believer in a Creator. There is too much around me that says there had to be an intelligent designer. I find so much good direction for positive living in the Bible. When the Book is followed it can change peoples' lives for the better. I believe that The Book comes as a guide.

My parents had been members of the Russian Orthodox Church and were faced with some major conflicts in the church and began a private study of the Bible. Just the Bible - nothing else. They found it brought them answers to their questions along with a special peace. Later they were contacted by the Bible Students in the early 20's.

Unfortunately, there has been abuse by people who have power. In recognizing this it has helped me to shrink the influence that such ones have in my life. I can make better choices in my life rather than lean on others to make them for me.

There is nothing that I or the combined group on this board can do to right the wrongs and make changes. Having a position does not mean that positive influence can stem the trend that is being set. It reminds me of the Bible account of priest Eli and his wicked sons. They had power and abused it. But I believe that what goes around comes around - sooner or later.

RVW

11

class distinctions

by teejay in

jw
friends

a question and then i will allow the reader to reflect or respond.

i do not expect to respond to any posts here.. are there class distinctions on jw.com?.

if so, should those of the "high class" be allowed to run roughshod over the feelings of those deemed "low class at will?".

RipVanWinkle

Todd,

Talking about chickens. I was raised on a farm and among other things we raised hundreds of chickens. And yes, you're right - just a small blemish can cause the "head chicken" to begin to peck and draw blood. Then the whole flock who will keep it up until the chicken is dead or if you are the care taker you take the chicken into a safe haven. We experimented a bit and found the the problem with these chickens was their diet.

That's right. They had a deficiency and it showed itself in such antisocial behavior. These were also chickens that when they were butchered we found that they had numerous tumors inside. So much so that they were destroyed and never used for food. We found that if the chickens were fed sugar beets that supplied the deficiency and they would not attack others and their tumors disappeared as well.

Which brings me to the point of saying that perhaps - just perhaps - a deficiency in our diet (what we feed our minds and hearts) could cause us to attack others and in the process also harm ourselves.

Life is too short to spend it in finding fault with others. And too short to worry about people finding fault with us. Enjoy life and find common ground with those we can and let the others find those who please them.

RVW